Achieving Sustainability in Care Systems: The Potential of Technology, 2020-2021

Current social care systems face challenges to their sustainability due in part to population ageing and the changing nature of care needs. These have led to a mismatch between care supply and demand and more complexity, as many people, especially those over 75, experience co-morbid chronic conditions. Geography and population diversity also pose challenges for the design and delivery of social care. Familial networks of care are increasingly dispersed and complex, rural populations are ageing, and in some urban settings populations are very diverse. Rising numbers of older adults live alone (some experiencing loneliness, isolation and the associated, negative, impacts on their wellbeing and health) and a growing minority of older people have no children who could support them. At the same time, social care is underfunded and failing to keep pace with the escalating and changing nature of care demand, with some local authorities struggling to deliver wellbeing outcomes (both for those in need of care and their carers, as required in England’s Care Act 2014). Some are also finding it challenging to contract with care providers able to deliver reliable services of good quality. Wider, more systematic use of technology in care at home, and advanced technologies in development, are often seen as offering promising solutions to these challenges, yet the place of technology as a source of future sustainability in the care system is far from clear. 'Achieving sustainability in care systems: the potential of technology' aims to: • Map the changing role of technologies within care systems in: a) planning/organisation of social care; b) delivery of social care through the support received by people living in their own homes; c) collection and communication of data between different parts of the care system, including its integration with health care. • Explore the potential role of technologies in developing sustainable care systems: a) using a future-oriented perspective and broad view of advances in technology; b) focusing on areas of promise for sustainability / wellbeing in care at home) using cross-national comparisons and stakeholder input to address issues of practical, attitudinal and ethical acceptability, and design and other requirements needed to embed technologies in care systems. 'Achieving sustainability in care systems: the potential of technology' is part of the Sustainable Care research programme.